Shared Visions

Favourite Quotes – Part 2. What’s Yours?

Gail Pischak — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:00:29 +0000

My motto is ‘One Step at a Time’ – even have it tattooed on my arm! It has a story. It all began when I decided to take up backpacking with my nephew (yes my nephew but about the same age as me). The first trip was in the mountains behind Banff. We planned on [...]

Favourite Quotes – Part 1. What’s Yours?

Gail Pischak — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:00:06 +0000

Thank you to our readers below that have shared their favourite quotes and/or thoughts with us. We sincerely hope you enjoy them! ______________________ Over the years I’ve had many favourites. As we mature, learn, and make mistakes, the quotes and sayings that resonate with us the most will most certainly change. But over time, I’ve had [...]

What’s in a Quote? What’s Your Favourite?

Gail Pischak — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:00:40 +0000

Upon being asked when W.C. Fields became an alcoholic he insightfully replied, “Slowly, then suddenly.” I love this quote and have used it numerous times and in numerous contexts over the course of my career. I have used it to explain change: it happens slowly, then suddenly. I have used it to explain slow weight [...]

Why All Leaders Are Social Workers

David Zinger — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:09 +0000

Part 1 of a 2 part series on the fusion of social and work Are you a social worker? I don’t mean someone who went to university and took a Master’s of Social Work with courses in welfare policy, community practice, or family dynamics. I mean someone who acknowledges, practices, and works socially. A social [...]

Dealing with Insults in a Meeting

CrucialSkills — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:30:38 +0000

Dear Crucial Skills, I was asked to be the chairperson of a large seminar in its thirty-third successful year. Past chairpersons have been people from upper management and strong academic backgrounds. I am a bedside nurse unfamiliar with the duties of this job. At each meeting, I am struggling to have control and get the [...]

How to be Prepared for Confrontation in Meetings

CrucialSkills — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:00:07 +0000

Dear Crucial Skills, My question concerns when you know you are going to have a meeting—at the request of someone else whose purpose is to confront you or “blast” you. How does one diffuse the meeting—before, during, or even after? Signed, Nervously Anticipating ______________________ Dear Nervous, This short question carries with it so many possibilities. [...]

Leadership Lessons: Too Much Capitalism and not Enough Teamwork

Gail Pischak — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:20 +0000

Last week I was travelling through the San Francisco airport with time to kill. I decided to treat myself to a mini-massage in one of those popular “airport spas”. I was introduced to Hargrove, the gentle man who would single-mindedly devote the next 30 minutes to the physical well being of my neck and back. [...]

How to Ensure Your Recommendations are Constructive

CrucialSkills — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:50 +0000

Dear Crucial Skills, I often find that I, as a consultant, am brought in as an expert, but as I attempt to guide clients toward a different way of thinking or problem-solving, they take it as a threat to how they currently do things. A power struggle ensues because they think my recommendations are an [...]

Wasting Time in Meetings

CrucialSkills — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:51 +0000

Dear Crucial Conversations, My problem is the type of meetings my boss runs. There are few dynamics, the same items appear on the minutes, people give a 30 second report on these items, no one appears to look at the minutes from weekend to weekend, and no members of the management team challenge each other. [...]

Revisiting Shakespeare with Crucial Conversations

David Zinger — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:37 +0000

What light through yonder window breaks? How many conflicts and high stakes conversations in Shakespeare’s plays could have been prevented or altered had Shakespeare been fluent with Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations? Let’s take a look at 5 snippets of conversation and see how they could be viewed and changed with a crucial perspective: Juliet [...]